Good Morning, Islanders Country.
There are noted health benefits from simply going outside.
Fresh air can boost your mood, raise your energy level, and give you a more positive, healthy outlook on life. It also, at least momentarily, can help you forget that you are outside of a playoff spot with 29 games left to play in the season.
The Islanders were all smiles at Thursday’s outdoor practice at MetLife Stadium, and rightfully so. It was a day to take in the atmosphere, pose for a team photo, skate the kids around the rink, and throw the pigskin around with the boys.
Those smiles will have to be replaced by a seriousness come Sunday afternoon when they meet their New York cross-town rivals for the first time since December 202 in New Jersey, of all places. They need to step onto the frozen gridiron focused, prepared, and up to the task against a Rangers team that has won six straight and just scored seven goals against the Canadiens last night.
Patrick Roy publicly challenged the team to raise their “compete level” after two straight home losses that lacked the urgency and physicality this part of the season demands. Sunday’s game is one the Islanders desperately need more than the first-place Blueshirts, and they need to play like it.
There are 70,000 hockey fans expected to be on hand in East Rutherford. If the Islanders can’t give their best effort under these circumstances, it’s going be hard to believe they will under any other the rest of the way.
When we look back on this game, the Islanders need to be more than a footnote. The 2014 game at Yankee Stadium is remembered for cold weather, Cee-Lo Green’s fur coat, and a loss. This time, the Isles must make the most of their novelty outdoor game experience and take home two points. If they don’t, it furthers the likelihood they’ll remain outside … of the playoffs.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: After missing Wednesday’s “bag skate” practice, Mathew Barzal had a second straight maintenance day on Thursday, only briefly skating on the ice. However, don’t fret; Patrick Roy expects him to be ready for Sunday. A positive sign is that Barzal still found a way to get some passes in practice.
Meanwhile, Hudson Fasching rejoined skated with the team for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury on Jan. 25 in Montreal. Fasching has eight points (3G, 5A) in 35 games this season, 37 hits and 21 blocked shots.
"You look outside, it's hard not to smile when you're out there," said Fasching after Thursday’s practice. "It feels great; I don't even really know how to explain it; it's just so much fun to be out there."
Big News Coming?
Peter Schwartz caught up with NHL Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer Steve Mayer for his Double Chili Podcast about the challenges of hosting two outdoor games in less than 24 hours at MetLife Stadium this weekend for the Stadium Series.
Later in the interview, Mayer strongly hinted that marquee NHL events would soon be coming to Long Island and UBS Arena. “I will also say I think that the Islander fans will hear soon some really big news regarding some events that could be coming your way,” said Mayer.
“I think this [UBS Arena at Belmont Park] is an arena that is first class and needs to be a host of some of our marquee events for sure,” he added. “There are some good things that we see at our level, which is at the league, and we’re just really proud that the Isles are part of this weekend."
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders play their second outdoor game, and first since 2014, on Sunday afternoon against the New York Rangers at MetLife Stadium in the NHL Stadium Series. The forecast is in the high 30s.
Face-off is set for 3:00 PM EST.
📊 STANDINGS:
Glory Days
We all know Anders Lee could’ve chosen a different path. After being named 2008 Minnesota Gatorade player of the year, he could’ve pursued a collegiate football career as a quarterback. He chose hockey and the University of Notre Dame, which has worked out quite nicely.
Lee was in his perfect element on Thursday. Around a hockey rink inside a professional football stadium and was ready to let loose. “It’s fun. We always have [a football] in the bag,” Lee said Thursday in Sportsnaut. “Guys are chucking it around pregame wherever we are on the road if we get the opportunity. So, we brought it out here again today, and it’s a pretty special building to throw it in.”
“We were seeing how far Anders could throw the football. He’s got a gun on him, obviously. He was quite the football player prior to this,” Islanders forward Matt Martin explained. “We were seeing if he could make it to the second deck, and he just came up a little short.”
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, the 2-1 shootout loss to the Seattle Kraken was the final of 17 straight inter-division games to open 2023; the Isles went 5-8-4 in those 17 games.
After playing their next two games against Metro Rivals (February 18 vs. NYR at MetLife, February 20 at Pittsburgh), the Isles will play 11 more inter-division games before facing the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on St. Patrick's Day.
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On February 16th, 2001, Rick DiPietro recorded his first NHL win, making 24 saves on 26 shots in a 4-2 victory against the Edmonton Oilers. DiPietro finished the season 3-15-1 with a .878 SV% and 3.49 GAA.
“Those were some really long minutes," said the 19-year-old goalie, who won for the first time in his seventh career game. "I was just praying the clock would go down faster. It was nerve-wracking. I was just hoping we'd get the puck out of the zone. "I'm more relieved than anything. It's a great feeling to get those first two points under your belt. I hope I can move on from here and be more successful.”
🎧 Isles Fix Podcast Network - The Red Line: Bag Skate “In the latest episode of “The Red Line” with co-hosts Phil Farber (@PhilzFacts) and David Tuchman (@TuckOnSports), the boys spent Valentine’s Day with each other to talk about one of the great loves in their life, the New York Islanders.”
🔗 Islanders keen on not getting lost in 2024 Stadium Series fanfare by Joe Pantorno, amNY “Sunday afternoon is a benchmark day for the NHL, but it’s a vital two points on the line for the Islanders. With 29 games remaining in the 2023-24 season, they’re seven points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division, which is the final non-Wild-Card spot up for grabs.”
🔗 3 reasons why the Islanders must make a strong play for Adam Henrique by Todd Matthews, Eyes on Isles “While the sheer cost of adding Henrique to the lineup factors in as a major obstacle for the Islanders if they can swing it, they will have a sound depth scorer among their forwards. Bo Horvat and Brock Nelson have 21 and 22 goals, respectively, but no one else on the Islanders has any more than 15, and this is where Henrique will help them with depth scoring.”
And we leave you with this…: Although a lot has changed for Cal Clutterbuck in the last 10 years, but he’s still with the New York Islanders, albeit with a little less eye black.
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